Band-Aids stuck on them

Injuries, not bad attitude hurt Boilers the most

Injuries, not bad attitude hurt Boilers the most

November 12, 2008|AL LESAR Tribune Staff Writer

How much difference would there have been in Purdue's football season if the Boilermakers would have won their overtime game with Oregon? How 'bout if they'd have played a better third quarter against Notre Dame? "One game?" Purdue coach Joe Tiller said Tuesday. "I'm not inside young people's heads, but I don't think one game is going to make or break a season. "It could have been a little better. Having gotten off to a 3-0 start (by reversing the overtime loss), we might have been able to go into South Bend feeling better. Still, it comes down to performance." Performance problems have surfaced at times during Purdue's 3-7 (1-5 in Big Ten) season, heading into Saturday's game at Iowa. Continuity has been lacking. Health has constantly been a concern. Injuries have plagued the Boilers since last spring. Offensive linemen Sean Sester, Garrett Miller and Eric Hedstrom have been banged up most of the season, leaving Purdue with what Tiller called "dial-a-line," seven different combinations of starters in 10 games. "We didn't get one down out of (linebacker Jason) Werner, (running back Jaycen) Taylor and (tight end Kyle) Adams," Tiller said. "Coming out of practice last spring, we knew we had a lot of ground to make up physically, because so many people missed (spring practice with injuries)," Tiller said. "I was optimistic that we'd make it up, but we didn't." In his 18 seasons as a head coach, Tiller never had to use four quarterbacks in a season, like he has this year. Moving Justin Siller from quarterback to running back was Tiller's knee-jerk reaction to Taylor's injury in the last week of fall camp. Ten games later, with Siller set to make his third start at quarterback because of Curtis Painter's shoulder injury, the move is one regret bothering the retiring coach. "If we would have left Siller at quarterback, he'd be more advanced now," Tiller said. Tiller said Siller will likely handle the bulk of the action Saturday in Iowa City, but Painter should be available to handle spot duty, along with the two-minute offense. "So many calls (in the two-minute offense) have to be made by the quarterback," Tiller said. "Justin's not ready for that yet." "Difficult" and "frustrating" are two words Tiller used to explain this season. He compared this year with 2005, when a Boiler team picked in the preseason Top 10 in the country fizzled to a 5-6 record. Tiller said that 2005 debacle was more about personalities and attitudes. This year is about a litany of injuries. "This isn't an underachieving team," Tiller said. "We've hung in there amazingly well. A lot of teams would have thrown in the towel a month ago. We may have overachieved on defense a little, given our problems at linebacker. "We've had to hold this thing together with a Band-Aid."